Fully Ingrained

Sculptor's Attention To Detail Has Made His Sand Art A Staple At The Fair

January 27, 2006|By Ivette M. Yee Staff Writer

Just call Dave Henderson the Sandman, a top draw at the South Florida Fair.

Year after year, Henderson comes back to the fair from San Diego to make his gigantic sculptures using a shovel, his imagination and 250 tons of sands.

And the Sandman has quite a following.

Last year, when fair officials canceled him and spent more on entertainment, boy, did they hear about it.

"He's a very popular guy," said John Picano, spokesman for the South Florida Fair. "When we didn't have him, that was one of the most often heard comments here."

Before the fair starts, Henderson and a crew of helpers bring in truckloads of sand and pound it into a huge base. Creating the sculpture takes most of the fair's 17-day run.

He makes something memorable to match the fair's theme. Over the years he's created a gallant Chief Crazy Horse on his stallion, ready to charge; an alien city abuzz with lights; and the captivating King Neptune watching a whale attacking a giant squid, a crowd favorite.

For this year's sports theme, Henderson fashioned scenes of kids at play, including some sitting atop a huge football, a ball and glove and a referee blowing a whistle.

"Holy Toledo! This is gorgeous," said Gary Miller vacationing from Seattle, as he gawked at Henderson gently smoothing out a character's face with a palette knife.

Henderson uses a little shovel here and a palette knife there to carve out fingers and shape small noses from sand. The expression on his kids faces go from delighted to driven. Deep in focus, he wears headphones and listens to classic rock as he works, because fewer people interrupt with questions. He surrounds the sand pile with posters of facts about the work.

"I'm glad he's back," said Pat Raynor of Jupiter, a regular fairgoer and Henderson fan. "He gets the faces right. They didn't have him last year and we were upset."

Some people come to see his projects at the start, middle and end, he said, and he's flattered by the attention.

"I never thought I was good at this," said Henderson, 47, who builds pool waterfalls for a living. "I just liked being able to make something fast and then seeing people's reaction to it. There's no other medium in which you can make something this big so quickly."

Henderson began learning his craft from sand sculptors he met on a San Diego beach in 1984. Since then, he's competed in events in Japan and Canada.

In 1998, he led a team that made the world-record largest indoor sandcastle at the New York State Fair. It measured 331/2 feet tall and required 412 tons of sand.

A man of faith, Henderson wants to make a religious sculpture some day, he said.

Spectators often ask him if he is sad when one of his giant sculptures is taken down so quickly. The answer is no.

"Sand sculpting is a performing art. Just like a play when the show is over, all we have is a memory," Henderson said.

"We can make anything with sand," Henderson said. "People like it because it captures the kid in them."

Ivette M. Yee can be reached at imyee@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6538.